1970s Halston Ultrasuede Trench Coat, Dark Red, Matching Belt

This 70s Halston Ultrasuede Trench Coat is a real collector’s item.

Halston  Trench Coat Details

• 1970s cranberry red trench coat in Ultrasuede by Halston.
• Matching belt.
• Seven-button front plus two 2 button cuffs with button placket.
• In-line pockets, one on each side. Unlined. Note:
• Duster length.
• Pink acetate lining.
• Perfect for autumn – fall. Also a fab women’s winter coat for milder climates.
• Note: Ultrasuede pieces need to be cleaned by specialty dry cleaners. Use a clothesbrush for dirt and dust. Use clothes brush for dirt and dust.

Approximate Measurements Taken Flat (cm)
Shoulders 15″ (38″).
Bust: 18″ (45.5.
Waist: 16″ (40.5).
Hips: 20” (51 cm).
Length – Center Back: 43” (109).
Sleeve: 23” (58).
Wrist: 4” (20).
Belt: 58″ x 2″ (147 x 5).

Who was Halston?

Roy Halston Frowick was one of the most important designers in the 1970s.  He was born in 1932, in Des Moines, Iowa. He developed an early interest in sewing from his grandmother and he began creating hats and altering clothes for his mother and sister. At 14, he moved to Evansville, Indiana.  After high school, he enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In the early 1950s, while attending the Institute, Halston began designing and making women’s hats. He garnered a well-known clientele and opened a store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in 1957. He later became the head milliner for high-end New York City department store Bergdorf Goodman.  In 1961 he designed the pillbox hat for Jacqueline Kennedy, worn with an Oleg Cassini coat, to the inauguration of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. It was a very windy day and Jackie accidentally put a dent in the top of the hat.  The look created a sensation and other companies copied the hat right down to the dent.

Halston made the transition to women’s clothing in the late 1960s, opening a boutique on Madison Avenue in New York.  His minimalist, clean designs, often made of a new fabric called Ultrasuede, were a new phenomenon in the mid-1970s discos and redefined American fashion. Halston was known for creating a relaxed urban lifestyle for American women.^[1] He was frequently photographed at Studio 54 with his close friends Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, and Andy Warhol. In 1977 he created uniforms for Braniff Airlines.

After several ill-advised business decisions including designing a lower-priced line for Penny’s, a concept that was way ahead of its time, Halston eventually lost control of his fashion house in the 1980s. He died of AIDS-related cancer in 1990 at the age of 57.